3,076 of the
17,040 complaints filed about the Honda Odyssey
are about the transmission —
18% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2002.
3,076
Complaints
18%
Share of all complaints
48
Crashes
24
Fires
Transmission & Drivetrain complaints by model year
When the engine is hot, the car hesitates to start for a couple seconds. Occurs on really hot days especially after stopping and starting the engine such as after getting gas or on idle stop at a redlight. The motor starter has been replaced by Honda to a new one but the issue can re-occur as the part being replaced is the same with the same build and will likely fail again in hot conditions.
NHTSA complaint #11757634 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While at a stop light on a major road, the vehicles auto start stop engaged. Upon the light turning green, I released the brake and vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle put itself into park and flashed a warning message "problem detected....." . I pressed the start button, and at first the vehicle failed to start, making a clicking sound, consistent with a dead battery or starter. I had to press the start button 4 times before the vehicle restarted and I could proceed. I was extremely concerned as I had my wife and three kids in the car, unable to move forward on a major roadway. I have an appointment at the dealer for this Friday.
NHTSA complaint #11757358 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While stopped at a red light or intersection, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop feature engages and shuts off the engine as designed. However, on multiple occasions, the engine has failed to automatically restart when the brake pedal is released. The vehicle remains stalled and unresponsive in the middle of the intersection or traffic lane, creating a safety risk to myself and other drivers, particularly at busy intersections. In some instances, the vehicle needed to be fully powered off and restarted before it would move again. This is a known and widely reported defect affecting Honda and Acura vehicles with the Auto Idle Stop system, currently under NHTSA Engineering Analysis EA25004. The problem has occurred repeatedly and unpredictably, with no consistent warning beforehand. The vehicle and its Auto Idle Stop system are available for inspection upon request. The problem has not yet been confirmed by a dealer, though I intend to bring it in for diagnosis. There were no warning lamps or messages before the failures occurred; the only symptom was the engine simply not restarting after an automatic idle stop.
NHTSA complaint #11757543 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Wife was going to the store engine lost power and died prior to that steering got loose like trying to turn itself, towed to dealer inspected dealer cleaned throttle returned vehicle after cost of 807.00 and drove van to church tailgate would not open without vehicle running, got home turned off windshield washers operated brittle with key off, remote key system problem displayed also hill hold, brake failure and steering message on dash prior, dealer picked up van inspected again found defective seal sealer on passenger side leak in water on wiring harness pins and soaking power distribution box said that was causing issues and stalling driving and safety system issues, van is at dealer, also tailgate after you open with ding when open and will close by itself, safety issues will close while you or small child in at back closes from behind you
NHTSA complaint #11755762 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving the car lurches as it shifts gears. This had gone on for quite some time but no codes have been thrown. This last time the car lurched so badly at the beginning of acceleration that I thought it was going to stall. It did not, but lights began flashing on the dash and when codes were (finally) thrown I was told I needed a new transmission altogether.
NHTSA complaint #11755352 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On 2 occasions now automatic Start/Stop system has failed to restart. First was approximately 5 weeks ago and Second was Monday 3 Aug 2026. Dealer on first occurrence said there was a loose wire. Have not been to Dealer on 2nd occurrence yet. Situation in both cases is the vehicle was seemingly operating normally with no warnings displayed and I stopped in traffic. When traffic cleared and I tried to proceed; the vehicle was non responsive and would not start when I activated the normal start sequence.
NHTSA complaint #11755363 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
After driving for awhile, stopped in a store for a minute and came out and my van barely started. Made my next stop a minute down the road, and when I came out the car wouldnt turn over. Let it sit for a minute and still heard the start click once and nothing. Let it sit for 10 15 mins then tried to start it and it worked. Had battery and alternator tested at Auto Parts store and both ok. After reading some forums and researching, I see that it is an overdraw from the auto start feature. I also saw the model of starters on my year of van were only used one year, so it seems like its a problem Honda has known about. Im seeing a lot of these issues, and the guy at the auto parts store even knows about it, so it is something that needs a recall. Clearly these starters are a problem. My van just rolled over 36k miles because we drive a lot so its not under warranty still.
NHTSA complaint #11754886 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Incident Description: The vehicle entered an Auto Idle Stop event at a traffic light and stalled completely instead of restarting when the brake pedal was released. The red battery warning light illuminated, and the vehicle had to be shifted into Park and the ignition key cycled multiple times to eventually achieve a slow, sluggish crank and engine restart in active traffic. Another vehicle was almost going to hit me from behind since red light turned to green when this happened, and that driver from far behind was thinking that my vehicle will start moving and did not slow down. That driver started honking and yelling. It was scary since I had 3 small kids in my vehicle. Dealership Diagnostics: I dropped off the vehicle at a local Honda Dealership to get this checked. From the invoice/service document, I see this note: Cause: Took several attempts but was able to duplicate concern of when vehicle goes into auto start stop it will not always restart, will have to cycle key. Noticed when it did restart it is slow to crank. Battery tested good, and had good reserve voltage. Used tech line as a resource and found this issue is caused by starter not having enough voltage to properly engage auto stop start. rec replacing starter. Correction: Replaced starter.
NHTSA complaint #11754469 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
At roughly 5,000 miles, this 2020 Honda Odyssey was brought into an authorized Honda dealership due to transmission concerns. The dealership service department improperly evaluated the 10 speed transmission, and diagnosed a 9 speed transmission system, assured me that what I was feeling was completely normal, and instructed me to only bring the vehicle back if the issue got worse. At approximately 60,000 miles, after experiencing a transmission slip, I immediately took the vehicle to an ASE Blue Seal Certified shop for a complete transmission service to ensure proper maintenance was performed by qualified technicians. At approximately 80,000 miles, while driving on a highway during a family trip, the transmission suffered a sudden, catastrophic failure, resulting in a total loss of motive power at speed. Losing all propulsion on a high-speed highway created a severe safety hazard for my family and surrounding traffic. The complete mechanical failure was subsequently confirmed by a service center, and the failed transmission assembly remains available for inspection upon request. Initial symptoms were presented directly to an authorized Honda dealer in Annapolis MD while under factory warranty and the vehicle was properly maintained by certified technicians thereafter, but the underlying defect went unaddressed until complete failure occurred on the road.
NHTSA complaint #11754107 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
With a 103,000 on the dash, engine experienced signs on slowing, check engine, abs, adaptive cruise, and steering faults amongst others . No lights prior to the bearing failing. The engine experienced rod bearing failure and left use stranded on the side of the highway. All maintenance was performed at dealership, towed back to dealership where upon inspection rod bearing completely fell apart. Vehicle is still at dealership where a 14,000 dollar engine was quoted.
NHTSA complaint #11753929 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
With idle start/stop enabled, there have been multiple occasions where the system has not restarted, causing my wife to almost get into an accident with my two young daughters in the car. Honda has looked at it on two occasions and claims there is no issue. However when researching this online, it has let me to find a NHTSA investigation, as well as hundreds of complaints about this are found online.
NHTSA complaint #11752447 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2025 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal and stopping at a traffic light, the gear shifter independently shifted to park(P). The vehicle was turned off and restarted, and the vehicle then operated as intended. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The insurance company had not been contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was 26,000.
NHTSA complaint #11751646 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Brought car into Honda of nanuet for lots of dashboard lights on. Was told that i need a airflow tube replaced. Milage was at 79048. Immediately after picking up car, same thing happened and was told that computer needs a reset. 2 months later same thing happened again and was told there is an internal error of Powertrain computer and needs to be replaced. Now milage is 81,147 and am being told that it is out of warranty and need to pay 1500+ to place.
NHTSA complaint #11750818 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle is a 2020 Honda Odyssey. A recurring and dangerous safety failure occurs involving the Auto Idle-Stop system. With the system enabled and the vehicle at a complete stop, the engine shuts off as designed. However, upon depressing the brake pedal to resume driving, the engine severely struggles to restart and completely fails. Simultaneously, the vehicle immediately and automatically shifts itself into PARK, and the entire dashboard display illuminates with all available warning icons and messages. This malfunction creates an immediate, high-risk safety hazard. When the incident occurs, I am trapped, locked in PARK, in live traffic lanes, sometimes at busy intersections or during left-hand turns. It is impossible to shift back into drive or quickly restart the engine. I am forced to remain stationary in traffic for multiple minutes until the system allows me to cycle the ignition completely OFF and then back ON to attempt a full restart and shift back into Drive. This leaves my vehicle, my passengers, and other drivers vulnerable to rear-end collisions.
NHTSA complaint #11750904 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2024 Honda Odyssey has repeatedly failed to restart after the Auto Idle Stop system shuts the engine off at a red light. When I release the brake or press the accelerator, the engine does not restart as it should. The vehicle then shifts into Park or instructs me to place it in Park, and it is difficult to restart using the start button. This has left the vehicle disabled in an active traffic lane and creates a serious risk of being struck by another vehicle. I have been stuck at a red light with people honking at me and haven't been able to start the car for up to a minute. The problem is intermittent, and I do not know whether it is caused by the engine, electrical system, battery, starter, software, or power train. The Auto Idle Stop system should not shut the engine off if the vehicle may be unable to restart.
NHTSA complaint #11750375 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My Honda Odyssey has always had continuous issues when sometimes driving the car at low speeds it randomly jerks, which can become an issue when driving. I believe this is related to the manufacturers reference to service bulletins #19-014 and 20-016 stating a software upgrade is required. However my local dealer is stating this software can only be carried out if it is diagnosed first and a fee will be charged and only if jerkiness is found then another fee will be charged for the software install. As this is a known issue - should this install of software be a recall item. As this to me is a safety hazard, when the car jerks unexpectedly and should not have a cost involved for diagnostic and then additional for the software update.
NHTSA complaint #11750005 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle failed to re-start after being engine had been at full operating temperature then was turned off for a short period of time. It has also struggled to re-start with auto start/stop leaving the vehicle partially in a busy intersection without any engine power until it successfully turned over several seconds after releasing the brake pedal. The dealer is unable to replicate. They have tested the starter and battery and confirmed both test good at ambient temperatures. No warning lamps. Once the vehicle cools, it is able to re-start again.
NHTSA complaint #11749356 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Once the vehicle's auto idle stop system engaged at a traffic light, and the engine failed to restart automatically leaving us stranded in active traffic. We usually disable the system but forgot that time. It has also required multiple manual push-button attempts to start from a parked position at home and in public parking lots. The vehicle was brought to an authorized Honda dealership for this issue. The dealer stated they could not replicate the symptom, diagnosed it as a low battery, and charged the battery. The issue persists. Failing to restart at a traffic light creates an immediate rear-end collision hazard and leaves occupants vulnerable in the middle of active intersections.
NHTSA complaint #11748227 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle has an automatic stop/start feature that is enabled by default, though there is a button readily accessible to deactivate the function easily ea. time the vehicle is operated. The vehicle has just had the starter replaced under warranty @ 25K miles. There have been issues with the vehicle struggling to start for at least six months now - rough, slow starts where the engine is struggling to turn over. If I forget to turn off the auto-start/stop function, the engine will sometimes shut off at a red light - but it won't turn on again when the light turns green and it's time to move. I have had this happen a handful of times in traffic - the engine turns off and will not restart when normal procedures are followed.
NHTSA complaint #11748029 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.